At A Glance
Author	Ruby
Contact	Ruby@bme.anon
When	A month ago
Artist	Alex
Studio	The London Piercing Clinic
Location	London

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd post the story of my month-old tragus piercing, I hope you find it helpful if you're planning to have anything similar done!

I'd been wanting to have something pierced for absolutely ages - I'd been umm-ing and ah-ing about exactly what to have done and eventually, in the middle of the night, I decided, 'Right, I'm having 'that bit' of my ear done'. I hadn't actually seen it on anyone and didn't know what the technical name for a tragus piercing was, but I thought it would look cute but still alternative. It's important to me to have something which is not too commonly seen - like a navel piercing which in my area almost every girl has done!

The very next morning I went to the London Piercing Clinic, taking my best friend, her mum and my nephew with me for moral support! The funniest part came when I was speculating about how much this was going to hurt and my friend's mum said, 'no, it wont hurt...does this hurt?' with that she grabbed my ear and dug her finger nails into it really hard, and Im like, 'hell yeah it does!' - so I guess at least I was prepared for some pain!

I must admit I was absolutely in pieces while I was waiting, I've had 4 tattoos (I absolutely love tattooing!) in various places and didn't find them too nerve wracking or painful, I've played with my band infront of massive audiences without breaking a sweat, I generally am not a nervous or anxious person, but I'd only ever had my lobes pierced before, and really didn't know what to expect. I was completely bricking it! I kept saying 'I dont think I can do this'...I dont think it helped that I was extremely hungover from the night before and feeling a bit rough -On a serious note I would strongly recommend that you wait until you are feeling 100% healthy and on top form before you get any piercing or tattooing done - the pain and adrenaline does have a tendency to make you feel a bit sick and dizzy sometimes so doing it with a chronic hangover wasnt the smartest thing I've ever done!

When Alex was ready he called me through into the room and patiently talked me through the process, although I was so nervous I hardly took in what he was telling me! I just remember him asking if it was going to hurt, he said 'it always hurts.' he also told me that it was pretty easy going compared to tattoos, and that relaxed me a lot.

The next thing I knew I was lying down and he was cleaning my ear, I was trying to breathe normally, keep still and just thinking, 'well, its too late to back out now!'. Then he bought his equipment round to my left side and I asked him if he was about to do it...he said 'no', and then, 'actually, yes I am' and with that did it! It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd expected - it was more of a persistant uncomfortable pressure than a sharp pain. It seemed to take a lot longer than I expected and it did hurt when he put the CBR in, but I didn't hear the 'pop' or 'crunch' that some people experience.

As soon as it was done I felt great, the adrenaline really flowed and although it did throb a bit my overall feeling was 'wow, that was a piece of cake, I could get addicted to that!' He talked me through the cleaning and showed me my new piercing, he also showed me the needle he'd used which Im glad he didnt show me before!

The worst bit of this piercing has been the aftercare - it hurts like a b!tch to clean and still gives me a lot of trouble if I accidentally knock it. The aftercare process is lengthier and far more uncomfortable than with any of my tattoos...

Having said that I'm still loving my tragus piercing and dont regret it at all - its all a matter of time and soon Im sure it'll heal nicely and stop giving me grief! I'd definitely recommend the whole experience overall, but be warned that you'll be cleaning it twice a day for a year and to start with it will hurt a bit! Im now planning my second piering, an industrial helix also on my left ear. Im going to wait for the tragus to heal properly before I progress with my little project but I love how piercings look. Im also planning my fifth tattoo by have yet to find an inspiration for a design or location...any ideas?!

Lots of love,

Ruby

xxx